The Path of a Sheppard
by P.J. Lowry
Summary: Mal and River agree to take on a new passenger, despite their ugly history with him. Don't blame Mal, they need the money!
1. Chapter 1

Even though it was raining down hard on the planet, Captain Malcolm Reynolds never really seemed to mind. With the many planets that he visited, rain was something he seldom saw so he always took a moment to sit down and appreciate the site. He also needed the water. Serenity wasn't able to create the stuff out of thin air, so whenever they encountered rain it was something to enjoy. Not having to pay for this month's supply of water was always easier on Mal's pocket. Always good to have a little change lying around just in case something else around here broke off. He was sitting on one of the many crates they were booked to deliver, just watching the water fall when Zoe emerged from the rear door of the cargo bay. "Is everything all right?" Mal quickly asked as he saw her walk in out of the corner of his eye.

"Everything's fine." Zoe said as she came out to watch the rain with him. "We don't see this very often, do we?"

"No." Mal answered as he didn't turn away from it.

"You're refilling the water ducts, aren't you?" she then asked.

"Want fresh food for supper?" Mal countered.

"Of course I do, but remember to replace the filters to clean up this stuff." Zoe said as she started to walk back inside.

"I will." Mal called back but she likely didn't hear him. He sat there and continued to be engrossed with the falling water. It was like watching money fly back into his pocket, something he never got tired of. It was then when he spotted him, walking down the platform and towards his ship. The man was covered in a cloak, likely to keep him dry but had a pace about him that got Mal's back up. His instincts told him to not trust this person, and they rarely led him astray. As the man walked closer and closer towards Serenity, Mal grabbed his pistol and slowly pulled it out of its holster and slyly put the gun behind his back to give him some element of surprise. When the stranger finally made it to the base of Serenity's loading bay, he removed the hood of his cloak to reveal himself to the Captain. His first instinct was to shoot him dead, but curiosity was getting the best of him. "I could have sworn that I told you only to show yourself here if you wanted to kill yourself."

"That was over a year ago, Captain." The man replied. "I was hoping we could talk about this… like men."

Mal paused when the man standing before him, as the former operative of the Alliance took the time to address him by his formal rank. Such respect was something he hadn't extended to him during any of their conversations. Something was different and it had changed him. "What are you looking for?"

"Passage." The former operative replied. "I have some money and unlike the other ship captains, I know you well and can trust you'll do the right thing."

"Why do you need transport?" Mal asked, somewhat eager to know what was going on in this man's life lately.

"Pilgrimage." He answered. "My destination is the location of my new parish."

"Parish?" Mal repeated. The former operative opened his cloak up a little more to reveal his new line of work. He was wearing the formal dress of a Sheppard. He was now a man of God. Mal face cringed when he recognized it. "You have got to be kidding me! You're a Sheppard?"

"I have been for almost six months now. I've spend most of my time since we last meet at the monastery, waiting for a sign to guide me towards my future. I found it and want to take the first step towards making it a reality." He took one step onto Serenity's boarding ramp.

Mal responded by whipping out his pistol and pointing it right at the man's chest. "Why a Sheppard?" he called out. "You could have made a lot more money as a mercenary for hire. Why live what usually is a life of poverty?"

"Believe it or not Captain." The Sheppard responded, "Many men in my field choose to become a Sheppard if they live long enough to see retirement. Do you really think Mr. Book was a Sheppard his entire life? He started just as I did: an operative for the Alliance."

"Bad mouthing my friends, especially those who have passed on is not a good way to get on board my boat." Mal said as he took offence to anything said about the late Sheppard Book.

"I'm sorry. I meant no ill will." The Sheppard replied. "If anything I have nothing but the highest respect for him and his work for the Alliance…"

"Well, I'll be honest. I'm a little iffy about whether or not I should give you a lift, regardless of what you can pay." Mal said as he put his gun back into its holster. "I'll have to speak with my co-pilot."

"Speak to me about what?" River said as she always knew when Malcolm was talking about her. She then turned to realize who he was talking to. "What's he doing here?"

"He is asking for a lift." Mal answered.

"We don't take strays." River replied.

"I have money." Sheppard retorted. "I am willing to pay for my transport."

River looked and finally noticed his garb. "You're a Sheppard?"

"That remains to be seen." Mal said as he still had a finger on the handle of his pistol, ready to draw at any moment.

"Where are you going?" River asked.

The new Sheppard passed her a note with his eventual destination. She read it and grinned at the irony. "Did you choose this place to start your parish yourself?"

"I like to think that it chose me." he replied with the up most respect.

"Okay, he can come with us." River decided.

"Are you sure?" Mal asked, somewhat unsure.

"Yes." River answered. "We need the money, and I want to get a new dress."

"Thank you." Sheppard replied, "I am grateful for…"

"Just remember." Mal said rather coldly. "My boat… my rules. If you break any of them or so much as piss me off…"

"I know." The Sheppard interrupted, "You'll toss me out the airlock I suppose?"

"No." River called back. "I will." She then smiled. "Come inside. We're just about to have supper."

"Thank you." The Sheppard said again, this time with a coy smile. He then walked onboard fully aware of what he was getting himself into.


	2. Chapter 2

River's prediction of dinner was not entirely accurate, but that gave her enough time to show the Sheppard to one of the spare cots and introduce the former operative it. "This is where you'll be resting." she informed the Sheppard. It was the smallest cot on the ship, and she remembered it well because it used to be hers. "Hope you like it!" she said with a coy smile.

There was barely enough room in there for a cot and a small study desk. Cells in the Alliance prisons were more spacious than this. The new Sheppard turned back to her and thanked her with a half bow. "This will be fine. Thank you for your very gracious hospitality." He said.

"I'm not sure about gracious." River replied playfully. "Wait until everyone else finds out you're here." There was then a loud buzzing sound that echoed throughout the ship. River's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Dinner time!"

The Sheppard quickly tossed his small bag into the cot and closed the door without a care in the world. There was nothing of value in the bag, only a weeks worth of clothing that he was taking with him to his parish. He quickly followed her to the mess which only took a few moments to walk into. When he stepped in, no one seemed to care or notice he was there. The young doctor, River's brother Simon was busy flirting and talking with Kaylee to care, while Jane was too busy slopping a lion's share of the food onto his plate to care.

Malcolm was at the head of the table and when he saw the Sheppard walk into the room with River, he quickly remembered and tapped Zoe on the shoulder to get her attention. "I forgot to tell you: we have a new passenger, a paying customer for a change."

"Who would that…" Zoe looked up and she suddenly recognized who it was and before Malcolm could answer, she was already drawing her pistol from her side and standing up to shoot the Sheppard.

"Wait!" Malcolm called out as he grabbed her arm and that send her shot flying straight up to the ceiling where it proceeded to ricochet off a few walls before landing somewhere where it didn't hurt anyone.

After the shot was fired, everyone got back up to discover who Zoe was shooting at. Jane was the first to speak as he also went for his pistol. "What the hell is that Alliance turd doing onboard?"

"I'm retired." The Sheppard said as he removed his cloak to reveal his new line of work. "I have a new boss and He has nothing against you."

Zoe looked at the collar, and her eyes flared open. "Is this for real?"

It took Jane's brain a few more seconds to process what was going on, but paused when his brain figured it out. "You're a Sheppard?"

"Is this some kind of joke?" Simon said as he slowly peeled himself off the floor.

"No, it's not." Malcolm said as he took Jane's pistol away from him. "This 'Sheppard' has asked for transport to his new parish. If that is where he plans to spend the rest of his days, nothing would make me happier to help him get there as soon as possible."

The Sheppard tried to appease them with his best smile. "I mean you no harm. I am only seeking passage to my parish and would like to join you for dinner."

"You can sit here." River said as she motioned to a chair beside her.

Zoe watched as the Sheppard took a seat and didn't seem to approve of what was going on. "I've lost my appetite."

Jane watched as she left the room, "Is she going to eat that?"

"I think you've got enough, Jane." Mal said as he motioned to the food that was still there. "Help yourself."

"Thank you very much, Captain." Sheppard said with a bow as he proceeded to take a modest portion of what was there. When he was finished, the Sheppard looked back at Malcolm to ask a question. "Is it all right if I say grace?"

"Only if you say it out loud…" Malcolm answered without looking back.

Half the table giggled at Malcolm's statement and the Sheppard didn't understand what was going on. "Did I miss something?" he asked.

"It's all right Sheppard." Jane said with sarcasm as he recognized the operative's new profession. "Just a little déjà vu."

"Try to be respectful of our guest, Jane." Mal said with a stern tone. "He's a paying customer, so if you want to have that much food in your belly this time next week, try not to give our temporary passenger any hassles. He already knows the conditions of being on my boat. You respect them too."

"All right." Jane said through grit teeth, "Doesn't mean I have to like it, Sheppard or not."

"Doesn't matter." Mal said between bites. "While he's on my boat you treat him like you would any other passenger, understood?"

Jane growled again as he took his now empty plate and took it to the back of the kitchen before dumping them into the sink. With that he also left the room and went back to his cot.

"So." Simon said sitting across from the Sheppard. "What made you decide to become a Sheppard? Did you find salvation?"

"I did not. I found purpose." The Sheppard replied between bites of his own. "Salvation is not something that can be found. It has to be earned through dedication and hard work, much like respect."

"And trust." Malcolm added.

"Of course." Sheppard agreed. "I would be willing to let you inspect my gear if you want to make sure I haven't brought any weapons onboard."

"No need." Malcolm answered. Chances are Zoe likely found and went through it by now anyhow. "We'll try to be a professional as possible. Just try to realize it will take some longer than others to get over the initial… shock of it all."

River held up a small bowl. "Peas?"


	3. Chapter 3

It did indeed take many crew members a lot longer to get over the initial shock of it all, Zoe as expected has tossed through the Sheppard's bag and found nothing that would suggest that he had any ulterior motives. Despite her inability to find any weapons or evidence of any kind to his reasons for being there, Zoe still chose not to interact with their new passenger and remained in her quarters for the majority of the trip to pick up their next passenger.

While Malcolm wanted the new Sheppard off his boat as soon as possible, it was well out of their way to make the trip now, and he chose to stop by a closer planet first for additional business before moving on to drop the Sheppard off at his new parish. Mal was sitting in Walsh's seat, watching the control panel as it automatically flew them to their next planet and didn't even notice that River had come into the room to take her seat in the co-pilot's chair. When he did notice her there, he smiled at how easily she snuck up on him. "Can't sleep?"

"Not really." River asked. "I'm not sure we made the right decision."

"That's entirely possible." Malcolm answered as he took a sip of the drink he had before him. "Whether or not it was right depends solely on perspective."

"How so?" River asked.

"If this man has truly become a Sheppard and means to run a parish and spread the word of a non-existent God, then I don't think it's a mistake." Malcolm said as he looked out into space. "If he means to only do a Sheppard's work for the rest of his life, that will hopefully keep him out of trouble and out of our business for a very long time."

"I see your point." River said. She already knew the answers, but enjoyed listening to Mal's take on them and the words he chose to describe them. His voice was calming and comforting to her.

Zoe then appeared on the bridge with something in her arms. "We need to talk."

Malcolm turned around and then recognized something very familiar. In the arms of his second in command was a sword. Not just any sword, during an fierce battle with the former operative, that was the same makeshift katana that made a home in Malcolm's gut for a few seconds. He took the sword from Zoe and looked at it for a moment. The Sheppard had told Malcolm that he didn't bring any weapons on board; turns out he had lied.

"It's not a weapon." River said without looking over. "Not anymore."

Malcolm turned to face his co-pilot. "I'm assuming you plucked that little nugget out of our guests head?"

"Yes, when it first said that he didn't have any weapons on the platform." She answered. "He considers it a souvenir, a memento of where he's been and what he needs to atone for."

Malcolm's first instinct was to take the new Sheppard and introduce him to an airlock, but he back started to whine about it with a few spasms. "This is a dangerous galaxy." He started to explain to no one in particular. "I would be more concerned if he wasn't carrying something to protect himself."

"What do I do about this then?" Zoe asked as she took the sword back from her captain, unhappy with his response to it.

"Lock it up with the other weapons onboard. He can have it back when we drop him off at his new home." Malcolm answered.

"This man tried to kill you." Zoe said with grit teeth. "He's pretty much the reason why Walsh isn't here either…"

"I'm aware of that." Mal acknowledged. "But this man wants to start over. I'd rather drop him off where he needs to go than let him wander around and spend the rest of my times looking over my shoulder. At least we'll know where he is and what he's doing."

"How's that possible?" Zoe asked.

"With this." Malcolm tossed a small electronic device to Zoe. "Put that inside the sword hilt and we'll know where he is at all times. That way if he ever decides to leave his flock behind, we'll know about it."

Zoe paused for a moment and nodded. "All right. One less thing to worry about."

"Exactly." Malcolm said, relieved she was finally seeing things his way.

Zoe's face grew very stern. "But if he causes any trouble on this boat…"

"River will throw him in the airlock." Malcolm finished. "And I'll let you hit the button to blow him out."

"All right." Zoe said. She paused for a moment and stared at the toy dinosaurs that were still placed at the main console and then left the bridge.

Malcolm let out a huge sigh. "That could have been worse."

"It's not over yet." River added. "Wait until Inara finds out when we pick her up at the next planet.

Malcolm cursed under his breath, dreading the thought of having to break the news of their new passenger to her. Inara was also a paying client so Mal allowed her to have a say, at least a minimal one, to what went on while she was she was onboard. "I'm sure she'll be all right as long as it doesn't interfere with her business."

River responded by laughing, aware of his discomfort at the thought of telling Inara about it but never said anything about what she was already aware of. She could tell Malcolm was uncomfortable talking more about the subject, but River already got all the information she needed as she grinned the rest of the way there. She was looking forward to this…


	4. Chapter 4

Things were run down but even the best business man knew that any organization was bound to have some dark days. It was how those businesses dealt with the rough times that made them worthy to enjoy the good times when the money flowed in. The struggles are what made victory even sweeter when it arrived and no one knew this more than Adelei Niska. The criminal kingpin had seen his share of ups and downs over the years but learned to appreciate that one was not possible without the other. In order to truly enjoy the sweet celebrations of life, one would have to endure the sour every once in a while. Niska rarely took much of the sour but understood a little bit of it here and there wasn't such a bad thing.

One of his more sour moments however, came at the hands of one Malcolm Reynolds. His organization took a heavy hit when Reynolds and his crew killed most of his men and caused a lot of damage to his space facility. The cost to repair everything and get things back in working order was far more than he could have ever predicted. Having to replace men that too years to train and learn to trust was en even heavier cost to him and his organization, something Adelei was not likely to forgive anytime soon. Malcolm Reynolds was going to suffer greatly for what he and his crew did, but for now his policy was to remain patient and wait for the fly to run into his web again.

What Reynolds and his crew did to Niska and his ship was more than just physical. His reputation took a hit as well. It took a long time for people to trust his organization again as people avoided working with him for some time. It was a blow to Adelei's very reputation, something that men work their lives to establish and nurture. While Niska was tempted to put out a bounty on Reynolds and his people, it was politically a very wise move. The two stowaways on their ship already were the most wanted people in the galaxy, so the incentive to find them was already out there. Adding something to it wouldn't make a difference. Much like his last encounter with the crew of Serenity, Niska was going to lie and wait until the right opportunity came along and only then would he strike.

It wasn't for another few years when such an opportunity would arise. Niska had raided the warehouse of a merchant that had been skimming from not only him but his customers. Stealing from Niska's clients was one thing, but skimming from his own pocket was something that was completely unacceptable. When Niska's men got their hands on that little worm, he began to sing like a bird. Not a single thing he said was enough to save his skin, that was until he mentioned the name Niska wanted to hear: Malcolm Reynolds.

Niska was smart enough not to get his hopes up but he still made en effort to hear the young man out and decide for himself if what he had to say was legit or just a desperate attempt to save himself. When Niska walked into the interrogation room, the subject was chained up and had already been worked over a little bit by some of his men. He was bruised, shocked a few times but that would be nothing compared to what Niska was going to do to him if he found out that the boy was lying about Reynolds.

As the young man watched Niska walk into the room, the begging started almost immediately. "Please, I'll tell you anything you want. Don't hurt me, Mr. Niska!"

"I believe you." Niska said as he strolled over to the table and started to examine the tools that were on it. "That's why I'm here. I want to hear what you told my people for myself. If I like what you're hearing, your suffering will end."

"My brother runs a trade route in the outer quadrants. Reynolds has been hired to do a few jobs for him." The young man repeated. "They've done at least several jobs for him over the past few years."

"When was the last time your brother hired Mr. Reynolds to do anything?" Niska asked as he picked up a knife and began to inspect it.

"Seven months ago." He answered.

"Would Mr. Reynolds work with your brother again if he asked him to?" Niska asked as a plan began to brew within his dark mind.

"I'm not sure." The young man answered.

"For your sake, I hope so." Niska said as he put the knife back down. He then tapped his man on the shoulder before leaving the interrogation room and back into his office. "Let's contact his brother and have a word with him."

"How do you want to play this, boss?" his worked asked as he closed the door behind him.

"We will offer the man his brother back and a small finder's fee if he agrees to lure Mr. Reynolds and his crew into our web." Niska said as he sat down at his desk. "We will also offer to forgive him for any cut he took from his brother's transactions in exchange for his efforts."

"Are you sure we should go so easy on these guys?" his man then asked.

"No." Niska admitted. "But at the moment I am willing to give them a chance to redeem themselves in exchange for help securing Mr. Reynolds and every member of his crew. I intend to make them all pay for what they did. I want the sounds of their screams to echo in our hallways of this station just like the gunfire they sprayed at us on that unfortunate day. I will make them endure more pain then they ever experienced before bringing their lives to a premature ending. We will make the true example out of them and hopefully this young man and their brother will learn from it and never cross me again."


End file.
